Dear Good Shepherds,

Life is about choices and about attitudes, isn’t it?! I would like to share one of my favorite stories with you that I feel illustrates two of the choices we have.

There were two little boys, identical twins, one of whom was an incorrigible optimist and the other an equally incorrigible pessimist. Now the parents were concerned about this so they took the boys to a child psychologist. The psychologist said: “I think I know what to do. On their next birthday, give the little pessimist the best toys you can afford, and give the optimist a box of manure. That will level them off.” So the parents did this. They put the little boys in separate rooms with their “presents.” When the parents peeked into the room of the little pessimist, they saw the boy looking dejectedly at his beautiful toys, complaining, “I don’t like this color. This will probably break. I know a boy who has a better calculator than this one!” The poor parents looked at each other and groaned. Then they stepped across the hall and looked in on the little optimist. He was gleefully throwing the manure up in the air, saying, “You can’t fool me! Where there is this much manure, there’s got to be a pony somewhere!”

My retirement from ministry and leaving Good Shepherd presents us this same choice! It can leave us with pessimistic expectations, thinking the worst and feeling depressed. Or it can be an opportunity for optimism, knowing that God has an incredible plan and we are all a part of that!

I am grieving big time at the thought of leaving you all, for you are like family to me, and it has been a tremendous blessing to be your minister and pastor for the past ten+ years. It has been a humbling, empowering, passionate, and spiritual journey together. I take so much with me, for you are a part of me, as well as the ministry we have shared. I could be stuck in my loss and pain at leaving, … or I can be thankful and celebrate the difference you all have made in my life, and to continue to rejoice in the privilege it has been to have served God with all my heart, mind, soul, and energies. I could be afraid for the future of Good Shepherd, worrying that you will jump ship or wait for someone else to lead you, … or I can trust that God is going to “grow” Good Shepherd in the way he would have you go, and to trust that you will continue to be ministers together in such wonderful ways along side God, who loves you so! … I choose to be optimistic, and to believe that God is so much bigger than our understanding, and is preparing the way for his will to be done in awesome ways with each one of you, and with Good Shepherd. There’s a pony somewhere –I can smell it!

Chuck Swindoll, Christian pastor and author, said: “ I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. . . . We are in charge of our attitudes.” That’s one thing we do have control of –our attitudes!”

Gratitude is what Thanksgiving is all about. Gratitude to God for what we do have; gratitude for what we can do with what we have; gratitude to a God who never leaves us alone, and loves us at all times. Yes, I have a choice to be thankful. I will choose today to have an attitude of gratitude. Won’t you join me?

In Christ's love, Sandy